MATHESON: Expect Oilers GM Ken Holland to explore Corey Perry availability

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Wouldn’t it be ironic if Corey Perry became an Edmonton Oilers winger 20 years after he wasn’t in that Mike Comrie trade to Anaheim that fell apart over money compensation involving Comrie, with Perry — the 2003 first-round Ducks’ pick — and the Ducks’ 2004 first-round selection going the Oilers way.

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With Perry’s contract in Chicago terminated for unacceptable conduct in the workplace, we can probably assume the Oilers’ current general manager Ken Holland is checking in on the forward, as would other teams like Florida and Colorado, who need role-player help.

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If Holland went out on a limb and hit a home run by signing forward Evander Kane, who had lots of off-ice baggage, he likely wouldn’t be averse to talking to Pat Morris, Perry’s agent and direct line to his 196 playoff games and 124 playoff points.

Holland will have to wait for Perry’s substance-abuse situation to clear, and he’ll certainly have to investigate fully what Perry did to have his contract terminated in Chicago, but if he doesn’t feel it’s a serious impediment, Holland would be all-in on the borderline Hall of Famer, even if he turns 39 in May. Age is no red flag for Holland, who traded for a 38-year-old Duncan Keith.

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The Oilers badly need a pain-in-the-butt forward, and a second-unit PP guy, especially in the post-season. Perry’s 196 playoff games are 24th all-time, tied with Steve Yzerman.

“He’s a guy you hate to play against but you love to have on your team. That’s how we hope it’ll play out,” said Hawks’ GM Kyle Davidson, when he traded a seventh-round draft pick for Perry’s UFA rights in June. It only played out for 16 games.

ON THE BLOCK

Ex-Oilers defenceman Tyson Barrie, who went to Nashville in the February deal for Mattias Ekholm, was always going to be near the top on the March 8, 2024 trade deadline board because he’s a UFA, and teams always need somebody to run a power play, but he might get moved well before then.

According to SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman, he’s been given permission to already look for a trade partner with Roman Josi running the PP with the Predators. Josi has played 105 minutes on the PP and Barrie only 72. Barrie’s average ice time is only 18:51, playing in the third pairing in Nashville.

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Barrie was expected to be a healthy scratch against the Rangers Saturday.

When then Preds GM David Poile traded for Barrie, along with winger Reid Schaefer and a 2023 first-round pick, he applauded Barrie’s offensive chops. “The Edmonton power play might be the best ever in the National Hockey League. I know they have some other names but he’s part of that. He’s always been a really good defenceman with a definite accent on being an offensive guy,” said Poile.

But Josi is their PP QB.

Barrie has a cap hit of $4.5 million, and Nashville might have to eat part of that to move him, but there are teams crying for help on the PP. Like Calgary, which has a PP stumbling at 11 per cent, 29th in the league. Like Washington (8.5, 32nd) or Philly (11.7, 28th). The Flames divested themselves of Nikita Zadorov’s $3.75 million if they feel they want to dive into the rental pool right now for Barrie.

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The Predators are not deep in offensive skill set in the middle with Ryan O’Reilly, Juuso Parssinen, Colton Sissons and Michael McCarron. Tommy Novak is out 4-6 weeks with an upper-body problem.

This ‘n that: Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, who looks after the forwards in-game, deserves props for having Ryan McLeod out there with the empty net in Winnipeg. McLeod was having a strong game already but Knoblauch also knew he hadn’t scored a goal in 37 games. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl didn’t need any more in the big picture but the team needed to see McLeod’s gap-toothed smile after his first celebration since March 9 against Boston … If anybody thought Canucks’ winger Brock Boeser would cool off after his four-goal rocket against the Oilers to kick off the season, he leads the NHL with 17 in 24 games. His shooting percentage (25.8 on 66 shots) is likely not sustainable because his career average is 13.4. But Boeser had 18 goals in 74 games last year … Jets’ best D-man Josh Morrissey didn’t like being flattened by Mattias Janmark Thursday. He thought it was an obvious pick play as he chased McDavid. The refs disagreed. “I thought it was interference. I was told we ran into each other,” said Morrissey, who spent time in concussion protocol after the spotter in the seats radioed down … One change in the Oilers PK under Mark Stuart — very little work by McDavid or Draisaitl (except to take faceoffs in the defensive zone) or Zach Hyman because they are on the PP along with even-strength. They are using six forwards: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Derek Ryan; Janmark, McLeod, Connor Brown and Warren Foegele … Vlad Namestnikov, who didn’t finish the Jets/Oilers game after he took a knee from Darnell Nurse when they got tangled up in the third, is out two games with a lower-body issue … Draisaitl does a very nice job on that Skip the Dishes commercial. His girlfriend Celeste Desjardins is an actress, so maybe some tips? … Ex-Oilers D Ethan Bear should be ready to play later this month after shoulder surgery in the spring but after the Canucks didn’t qualify him at $2.2 million, he’s available to one and all. Don’t expect the Oilers to call but the injury-riddled Leafs might, with a $775,000 one-year offer … Funny how it works out for some people when they sign. Ex-Oilers defenceman William Lagesson signed a two-way deal July 1 ($450,000 in the AHL, $775,000 NHL) with the Leafs after spending last season with the AHL Chicago Wolves. The Leafs had 11 D under contract and everybody thought he’d be an AHLer. He’s played 13 Leafs games and he’s averaging 15 minutes a night in their third pair … Knoblauch coached former Oil Kings D man Matthew Robertson at Hartford. “I think he’s close,” said Knoblauch, when asked if the local boy will ever make the parent Rangers after they picked him in the second-round of the draft. Robertson, 22, has never played an NHL game, 129 in Hartford … Knoblauch on the difference between coaching here and somewhere else. “They recognize me on the street,” he laughed.

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